DUPNITSA ABANDONED CEMETERY

The Jewish cemetery of Dupnitsa is known to have existed since the 16th century. The last burial took place there in 1979. Its granite and sandstone tombstones are overgrown and neglected and, though parts of the site have been encroached on by housing, the cemetery still survives. There have been City Council plans to remove it to make way for a commercial building, or a park with a memorial, but so far nothing has been done. Every elderly citizen of Dupnitsa knows where the Jewish cemetery is, but some younger folk are surprised to hear that they have been walking to school... through the cemetery of what was proportionately Bulgaria's largest Jewish community.